Currently Browsing: Spiritual Observer

: Audio   : Video   : Transcription   : Hindi Language

February 2023

• 245) Is parakiya rasa present eternally in the spiritual world?

August 2022

• 244) Why should we mention DaVinci code when Christian missionaries only portray our culture negatively?

July 2022

• 243) Why don’t we make the Bhagavad-gita compulsory in schools in India?

June 2022

• 242) ​What is the difference between Arjuna fighting under Krishna and jehadis fighting under Allah?

April 2021

• 241) Can one go back home back to godhead by practicing Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism and Judaism?

February 2021

• 240) When God is all-powerful, why does he need devatas to assist him?
• 239) How do people use spirituality and religion to justify suffering?
• 238) Does the caste system still exist in some parts of India?

January 2021

• 237) Does Krishna consciousness while removing our conditionings create its own set of conditionings that obstruct wisdom?
• 236) How does fatherlessness in America affect their spiritual receptivity?

November 2020

• 235) Why is bhakti, especially as presented by our movement, seen by many as non-intellectual or even anti-intellectual?
• 234) We find predictable movies boring, yet we seek predictability in our daily life – why?

September 2020

• 233) Why has atheism increased recently – is it due to science?

August 2020

• 232) How should a devotee decide whom to vote for in an election?
• 231) What is the spiritual perspective on adopting a child of unknown parents and hence unknown karma?
• 230) Why do some people celebrate beef-eating festivals – is it because of their hatred for brahminical culture?
• 229) Is comparing capitalism or communism with varnashrama like comparing apples and oranges?

July 2020

• 228) How do Indians and Westerners approach spirituality differently?

June 2020

• 227) By using the lower case pronoun for Krishna, aren’t you minimizing his position?

May 2020

• 226) Was India better under British rule than after independence? How do we understand Prabhupada’s statement
• 225) Will war break out because of the corona crisis, as some devotee-astrologers say – should we withdraw to self-sufficient village communities?
• 224) Can there be religion for atheists?
• 223) What is the spiritual perspective on capitalism?
• 222) How have greed, anger and lust been institutionalized in today’s world?
• 221) What is the difference between material and spiritual visions of history?

January 2020

• 220) History is written by winners – because Rama and Krishna won wars, did they declare themselves as God?

August 2019

• 219) What is the scriptural view on political correctness?
• 218) How can we deal with the global population explosion?

June 2019

• 217) Politics, Social Organization and Bhagavad-gita
• 216) How should devotees see scientific research involving animal testing or organ donation?

May 2019

• 215) Can atheists and theists come together to make a better world?
• 214) How can we share bhakti with Western audiences?
• 213) How do we refute secular humanism?
• 212) Discussion – God is not dead 2
• 211) Discussion – God is not dead 1

April 2019

• 210) “Unplanned” movie exposes the planned denial of reality surrounding abortion

March 2019

• 209) Will accepting diversity lead to disintegration of standards and chaotic relativism?
• 208) How do we create our world by our words?
• 207) Is there a clash of civilizations between Eastern and Western civilizations?
• 206) How do words shape our consciousness and character?
• 205) How can we explain the need for spiritual education to secular people?
• 204) Why is diversity essential for any tradition to continue?

February 2019

• 203) Understanding the Left, the Right and the Bhagavad-gita’s vision
• 202) Why blame the violence in Soviet Russia on atheism when it was caused by economic and political factors?
• 201) Why is atheism spreading so much nowadays – is it because of Kali Yuga?
• 200) Why is aggressive nationalism rising across the world nowadays?
• 199) How do we see the enormous expenditure on frivolous things that happens in today’s society?
• 198) What is the Vedic perspective on the Sabarimala issue?

January 2019

• 197) If Jesus came today, he would not be a Christian – should we avoid organized religion?
• 196) Is science entirely objective and value-free with no subjectivity in it?

October 2018

• 195) Is our real problem the original sin in the heart – not the mind – and is believing in Jesus the only solution?

August 2018

• 194) Has science replaced philosophy?

July 2018

• 193) If all religions come from God, why do they have contradictions?

June 2018

• 192) Spiritual lessons from world history 1 – Reflections on the Christian Reformation
• 191) What does Prabhupada want to convey by talking about the conflict of communists and capitalists?

May 2018

• 190) How can meat-eaters reincarnate in human bodies, as past life memories cases suggest?
• 189) Be open-minded, not empty-minded

April 2018

• 188) Were Internet and wifi present at the time of the Mahabharata?

January 2018

• 187) Should evolution be taught in schools?
• 186) When India is the land of spirituality, why was it overrun by so many invaders – why does it still have a colonial mentality?
• 185) How can we communicate the need of regulation to people who are gung-ho about freedom and rights?
• 184) I get dreams to act violently against Muslims – what should I do?

December 2017

• 183) When our acharyas wanted an institution, how can we deal with people’s aversion to religious institutions?
• 182) Why do the Vedas give all rights to men and no rights to women, who simply have to obey men?

November 2017

• 181) What is needed for sharing bhakti in the West?
• 180) When social justice is not defined in the West in terms of caste discrimination how can bhakti be seen as promoting social justice here?
• 179) How bhakti fulfills the aspirations of social justice
• 178) Selfies and the human longing to feel special

October 2017

• 177) Equality beyond equality
• 176) The Spirit of Diwali – Light the inner lamp to see beyond the painkiller of entertainment to the cure of devotion
• 175) If a relative of mine is getting influenced by Christian missionary propaganda, what should I do?
• 174) What is the role of religion in today’s world?
• 173) The missing self in the selfie
• 172) Stories about Krishna remain the same, whereas new stories about fictional heroes keep coming up – how then are Krishna stories ever-new?
• 171) Material entertainment requires no thinking, spiritual entertainment requires deep thinking – are the two comparable?
• 170) Might our sense of right and wrong be something created by society to check our biological urges?

September 2017

• 169) How can some people pass through problems without taking shelter of Krishna?
• 168) Does the media increase our negativity by focusing on problems in today’s world?
• 167) Are increased natural calamities due to climate change or bad karma?
• 166) Cultists, Fanatics and Spiritual Shoppers – Making sense of the world’s religious scenario
• 165) The Entertainment Industry – Giving the least valuable the most value reflects ignorance

August 2017

• 164) The Blue Whale Challenge and the desperate human need for self-validation
• 163) Understanding our unprecedented vulnerability to temptation
• 162) Addressing the fear of war breaking out

July 2017

• 161) Response to “My daughter wants to become Sunny Leone”
• 160) Acknowledging and regulating our passions – Wisdom on Wisdom 8
• 159) Should we drink cow’s milk nowadays when it is got by causing violence to cows?
• 158) When Krishna thrusts his mercy, inconceivably (Reflections on the departure of Vaishnava Seva Prabhu’s father)
• 157) The relief of turning away from the social mirror
• 156) How can I deal with a beef-eating colleague?
• 155) When scripture contains so much wisdom, why does most of India not follow scripture?
• 154) The Abnormal Normal
• 153) Appreciating India after traveling in America – Hindi
• 152) If my job requires me to do medical testing on animals, how can that be reconciled with bhakti?

June 2017

• 151) Does reincarnation explain why some people feel they are in a body of the wrong gender?
• 150) Be not judgmental but be not judgmentophobic either
• 149) How can people who care for pets and aspire to be vets still eat meat?
• 148) Demography and spirituality
• 147) Analyzing Social Media 2 – How social is social media?
• 146) Seek not just the self – seek the soul Gita 02.21
• 145) How to balance between shunning social media and being obsessed with social media?
• 144) Is violence against women in India caused by the objectification of women as sense objects in Indian sacred texts?
• 143) Why religion seems dispensable
• 142) If people hold on to their beliefs, how can we elevate them?
• 141) Why do Hindus leave shoes outside their place of worship but Christians don’t?
• 140) How can bhakti philosophy unite world religions?
• 139) How can Chrisitan conversions in India be countered – can Hindus be united for this purpose?
• 138) Some Christians say that Kalki will be Jesus come again, not Krishna come again – how to respond?
• 137) How central is cow slaughter to Islam?
• 136) If Islam considers idolatry the greatest sin, how can it co-exist with Hinduism?
• 135) Why do post-modern Leftist scholars in India separate Islam from terrorism, but not Hinduism from the caste system?
• 134) As different paths conceive God differently, do they all lead to the same goal?

May 2017

• 133) How can spiritual knowledge address today’s burning social issues?
• 132) Should we take cow milk when it is obtained by causing violence to cows?

April 2017

• 131) Where do the differences among religions come from?
• 130) Did Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection make his blood pure, making him into God?
• 129) How to preach to Christians who argue that Jesus is the only way?
• 128) Do all religions lead to God?
• 127) What is the destination of people who remember God according to their religious revelation?
• 126) How do we respond to people who self-identify as spiritual but not religious?
• 125) How can our spiritual growth dismantle the power structures in today’s world that choke spiritual growth?
• 124) How does spiritual consciousness help solve today’s practical problems?

January 2017

• 123) 2016 in review – Seeing global political upheavals philosophically
• 122) Talk show – How to stick to our new year resolutions
• 121) Dhoni’s stepping down and seeing the big picture
• 120) Let life give new eyes to see old relationships – Wisdom on Wisdom 7
• 119) No place in the world is pain-free – Wisdom on Wisdom 6
• 118) Pain is new for the sufferer, old for the observer – Wisdom on Wisdom 5
• 117) Pleasure is a smooth-talking lawyer – Wisdom on Wisdom 4
• 116) The future is in the future, not the past – Wisdom on Wisdom 3

December 2016

• 115) What’s new about the New Atheists – and what isn’t
• 114) No place in the world is pain-free – Wisdom on Wisdom series
• 113) Nietzsche’s Desirer of desire – Wisdom on Wisdom 2
• 112) Emerson’s Thought-stealing Ancients – Wisdom on Wisdom 1
• 111) Talk show – Ecology & Spirituality
• 110) Christmas – A meditation for raising human consciousness
• 109) Timeless insights, timely re-sights

November 2016

• 108) ​When there are different kinds of jehad, why is jehad associated with terrorism?

October 2016

• 107) Is the God of different religions one or different?
• 106) ​​​​If religion is meant to love God, what about Buddhism which doesn’t refer to God?
• 105) ​Why are there contradictions among different religions?
• 104) ​A Bhagavad-gita view of religious diversity
• 103) How do we balance between respecting followers of all religions and acknowledging the violence that some of them do?
• 102) ​How to respond to people who say their religion is the only way?

September 2016

• 101) ​What about the Buddhist concept of no-self, anattavada?
• 100) ​Why is cow protection recommended in one religion and cow killing in another religion?
• 99) If chanting Hare Krishna is the only way, what will be the destination of people from other paths who chant other prayers?
• 98) Why does every religion claim that it is the best?
• 97) When Christians don’t have much knowledge of God, how can they develop love of God?
• 96) ​Will Christians who accept Jesus as their saviour but don’t live purely attain God’s kingdom?

August 2016

• 95) Why is the message of God so different in different religions?
• 94) ​Can we use self-help books that give techniques that help us in our bhakti?
• 93) How do we see the joy of living in the present from the bhakti perspective?

April 2016

• 92) ​Is harmony possible among various religions?
• 91) Some Jains say that Krishna is still living in hell – is this true?

March 2016

• 90) How faith contributes to harmony – Multi-faith meeting

February 2016

• 89) What makes Indians convert to Islam or Christianity?

January 2016

• 88) QA with Christian students 4 – Is the Christian incarnation similar to Vedic avatar?
• 87) QA with Christian students 3 – Does the Prodigal Son parable correlate with the fall of the soul?
• 86) QA with Christian students 2 – Is there any bhakti equivalent to the Trinity?
• 85) QA with Christian students 1 – Is Yashoda similar to Virgin Mary?

December 2015

• 84) Sharing bhakti with a westernized audience
• 83) Is Jesus a forgiving God and Krishna a punishing God?

August 2015

• 82) When cities were present in scriptural times too, why does ISKCON criticize urbanization?

May 2015

• 81) Is Christianity Mayavada because many Christians consider Jesus to be God?

April 2015

• 80) Why do Hindus worship ghastly gods with skulls?
• 79) Is Jesus the only way to God and Hinduism the lie of the Devil?
• 78) If Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth, why are Hindus so poor?
• 77) Is God too big to be contained in a picture?
• 76) Does the system of karma and rebirth imply that there is no forgiveness?

March 2015

• 75) Is Prabhupada’s usage of “Thou shall not kill” to meat-eating an out-of-context application?

December 2014

• 74) Vaishnava Meditations on Christmas

November 2014

• 73) Is the God of the Abrahamic traditions the same as the God of the Vedic tradition?

October 2014

• 72) Don’t those who convert by force justify that they are saving others from eternal damnation?
• 71) Those converted by force sometimes later become fanatical followers of that religion. How then is such conversion inconsequential?

September 2014

• 70) Are fish vegetarian or non-vegetarian?
• 69) Dharma is that which is coming from God – do the Abrahamic religions also come from Krishna
• 68) Are all religions coming from the Vedas?
• 67) Is there a shiva-linga at the Kaba?

August 2014

• 66) Why do Abrahamic religions depict God as jealous when they are too are revelations?

July 2014

• 65) If we have canine teeth for eating meat, then doesn’t it go against the regulative principle of no meat-eating?

June 2014

• 64) Non-vegetarians healthier than vegetarians?

May 2014

• 63) Islam and Christianity have damaged Vedic culture yet we consider them revealed religions – so are they part of Kali’s plan or have they become distorted over time?
• 62) If someone is following an Abrahamic religion, should we encourage them to follow that religion or to take up Krishna consciousness?
• 61) Aryan Invasion Theory – Origins, Problems and Consequences
• 60) Was Hitler interested in India’s ancient spiritual culture? If yes, then why was he so hateful towards Jews?

April 2014

• 59) Where do Abrahamic religions fall among the six systems of philosophy?

March 2014

• 58) If dharma meaning to love and serve God is so simple and universal why do so many religions focus on such aggressive conversion?

February 2014

• 57) What is the Vedic perspective of godless religions like Jainism and Buddhism whose followers still live good lives?

December 2013

• 56) What can we do when religions use surrogate advertising for converting unsuspecting needy people?
• 55) Is institutionalization alien to Vedic culture? Did Gaudiya acharyas import if from Christianity ?
• 54) When Hinduism is not a missionary religion, why does ISKCON stress missionary activities so much?
• 53) Is love of God available to followers of non-Vedic systems?
• 52) Conversion to What: Intolerance or Transcendence?

November 2013

• 51) Why do Abrahamic religions violently oppose Deity Worship?

August 2013

• 50) Why do Christianity and Islam allow meat-eating? Is it essential for Muslims to eat meat?
• 49) What is the Vedic equivalent of the Golden Rule of Chrisitianity?

July 2013

• 48) If all living beings are God’s children, then isn’t killing plants but not animals like killing the handicapped child of a parent while sparing the healthy child?

June 2013

• 47) When hens produce more eggs than in the past then where do the extra souls come from? Do all eggs contain souls?
• 46) Are the revelations in other religious traditions as for example they do not accept the law of karma?

March 2013

• 45) Why are there irreconcilable differences between various religions?
• 44) Why does Islam say that those who convert others to Islam will get good credits?

February 2013

• 43) Why do some religions oppose Vedic cultural symbols like tilaka when they also have their religious symbols like beard and cap?

January 2013

• 42) If Jesus is a pure devotee why was he not protected, as was Prahlada?

December 2012

• 41) If Buddha is an incarnation then how do we understand his previous incarnations as animals mentioned in the Jataka tales?

November 2012

• 40) Did Lord Rama eat meat?

October 2012

• 39) Do we get a part of the karma if we see an animal being slaughtered?

July 2012

• 38) When meat eating is not allowed in Bible, then why did Jesus feed fish to his disciples?

June 2012

• 37) KC and World Religions 6 – Sikhism

May 2012

• 36) KC and World Religions 5 – Buddhism
• 35) KC and World Religions 4 – Islam
• 34) Why was there no scientific renaissance in India similar to that in Europe?
• 33) KC and World Religions 3 – Christianity 2
• 32) KC and World Religions 2 – Christianity 1
• 31) What is the difference between a prophet and a rishi?
• 30) KC and World Religions 1 – Judaism

March 2012

• 29) How can one practice vegetarianism in the coastal regions
• 28) What pushed Vaishnavism down from 2000 BC to 1000 AD?
• 27) Did the worship of Krishna Deities exist before the appearance of Krishna in the world?
• 26) Did Jainism exist in Satya Yuga?
• 25) “There is much I have to tell you”: Exploring the relationship between Christianity and Krishna consciousness
• 24) Is the Vedic concept of Maya same as the Christian concept of Satan?

February 2012

• 23) How does religion differ from spirituality?
• 22) Is Mohammed predicted in the Bhavishya Purana?
• 21) Was wheel invented in Satya-Yuga?
• 20) The Key To Religious Harmony
• 19) Are Krishna’s Gita statements exclusivist?
• 18) Why does every religion claim that it is the only way? Doesn’t this lead to violence?

January 2012

• 17) How can we explain to others that meat-eating is undesirable?
• 16) Which is the oldest religion in the world?
• 15) Comparison of Bhagavata worldview with scientific materialism, Christianity and impersonalism
• 14) Are there any logical reasons to choose vegetarianism?
• 13) If God wanted us to be vegetarian, then why has he given us canine teeth?
• 12) If we avoid meat because we don’t want to cause violence, then doesn’t eating vegetables also involve violence?
• 11) Do the Vedic literature allow meat-eating? Did Hinduism adopt vegetarianism from Buddhism?
• 10) Why did God create carnivorous animals that attack herbivorous animals?
• 9) Why do people who follow a religion often claim that their path is the only way?
• 8) Why do people fight in the name of religion?
• 7) Does Religion Cause War? (short)
• 6) Does Religion Cause War? (long)

December 2011

• 5) Does Religion Cause War? (Article)

October 2011

• 4) How to choose the Right Path?
• 3) Why didn’t we find gold and diamonds during the Dwarka excavations as were said to be existing in the scriptural Dwarka?

May 2011

• 2) Religions are meant to bring peace; then why do they cause wars?

March 2011

• 1) Why do people fight in the name of religion?